The field of the invention pertains to seats and cushions to assist in meditation and relaxation, and in particular, to provide and encourage better sitting posture.
Back pain and inner tension (stress) are two of the most common health problems in the United States. These problems affect people of all ages and in all walks of life.
People can be helped to eliminate or reduce back pain by learning to stretch and strengthen appropriate muscles and by learning to sit with proper posture.
To reduce inner tension, numerous health practitioners have documented the benefits of taking a period of time each day to sit and meditate. This technique is frequently recommended to help people to relieve stress, lower their blood pressure, and improve their physical and emotional health. One of the leading researchers in this area is Herbert Benson, M.D., cardiologist, associate professor at the Harvard Medical School. and author of an initial work on this subject matter entitled, "The Relaxation Response", William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1975.
A number of devices have been invented to assist in relieving back pain and stress, and to assist in meditation and relaxation. A basic seat structure may be that disclosed for a vehicle in U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,866. Such seats, which generally position the legs straight forward for driving, have not generally lent themselves for good vertical meditative posture. To reduce the fatigue frequently associated with vehicle seats and other seats, back rest cushions with therapeutic shapes have been developed. An example of such a therapeutic cushion is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,495. Such cushions, however, do not function as seats or provide any vertical support.
A substantially different approach to back support in a sitting position, either legs forward or cross-legged, is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,106. While providing the advantage of portability, this device does not provide support to the buttocks and upper thighs nor does the device appear applicable to meditation and reduction of stress.
Chairs and cushions have been developed to assist in sitting in the cross-legged meditative position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,890,004 discloses a chair-like structure with a back rest. This structure provides full buttocks and thigh support with the knees elevated to about hip elevation in the cross-legged sitting position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,216 discloses a seat comprising a pair of shaped cushions to assist in sitting in the cross-legged position. This structure also provides buttocks and full length thigh support with the knees elevated to about hip elevation but also provides a large opening notch for both feet and lower legs.
Other chairs and devices have been developed for providing better comfort and posture in the kneeling or combined sitting and kneeling position. The "Balance Chair" has become popular by providing a forwardly-downwardly tilted seat and a backwardly-tilted pad that provides support for substantially the length of the forelegs. This seat, however, relies on parallel placement of the forelegs and is not suitable for the cross-legged meditative position. The "Santhosh" sitting bench provides a tiltable bench for a sitting-kneeling position with the forelegs parallel and extending under the bench. The buttocks and upper portions of the thighs are supported with this bench. U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,049 discloses a kneeling device for meditation and prayer as well as other activities.
To further improve posture and comfort for meditation and relaxation, applicant has developed the new seat disclosed below.